The Walking Cure
On Cheryl Strayed and why Wild became a hit.
Arts
Dasher’s Deliverance
Kylee Kimbrough lost her childhood, lost her sobriety, lost her living situation, and finally even lost her son. Then she found the drums.
Livin' Thing: An Oral History of Boogie Nights
The making and near unmaking of Paul Thomas Anderson’s breakout film.
The Secret Handshake
The short-lived literary career of Breece DʼJ Pancake and his roadmap to a world of oppressive poverty.
Tilda Swinton Is in a World of Her Own
On the actress’s stellar year.
Chris Rock Talks to Frank Rich
On Ferguson, Cosby, and what ‘racial progress’ really means.
"I Love Getting Into as Much Weird Shit as Possible"
An interview with Stevie Wonder.
Shady XLII: Eminem in 2014
The rapper who never grew up.
Bill Cosby’s Legacy, Recast
Five of the sixteen women speak.
The Real Lolita
The story of 11-year-old Sally Horner’s abduction changed the course of 20th-century literature. She just never got to tell it herself.
Punch a Hole in the Sky
An oral history of The Right Stuff.
Can Whole Foods Change the Way Poor People Eat?
How the new store is—and isn’t—changing Detroit.
When in Doubt, Seduce
A profile of Mike Nichols.
Dave Chappelle Is Back (This Time We're 100% Sure It's Maybe Totally for Real)
The comedian on his show business bucket list, Donald Sterling, and whether he ever feels guilty for being funny.
"I just know that sometimes the things that scare you the most or make you want to cry the most or are the most tragic are the things you just gravitate to or address in a comedic context, partially because you shouldn't."
Previously: Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah's "If He Hollers Let Him Go," a Best of 2013 pick.
Fallen Arches
What happened to McDonald’s?
What It Takes to Be the French Jennifer Lawrence
The art of the voiceover.
Unravelling the Mystery Behind L'Wren Scott's Path to Self-Destruction
L’Wren Scott went from bullied Mormon teen to international model to Hollywood stylist to fashion designer, becoming Mick Jagger’s girlfriend in the process. In March, she took her own life.
Jeremiah Tower's Invincible Armor of Pleasure
He was America’s first celebrity chef, setting the hedonistic tone of California cuisine in the ’70s and ’80s. Then Jeremiah Tower lost his restaurant and ended up in Mexico, exiled from the booming culinary culture he helped create. Now, at 71, he’s coming home to take over the kitchen at Tavern on the Green.
Who Will Survive When Migos Meets Big Data?
Migos, a young Atlanta rap trio, has decamped to a mansion outside of town to avoid trouble, ride Go-Karts, shop for $2300 backpacks, and continue their streak of red-hot singles.
The War of the Words
A history of the war between Amazon and the book industry.
The Man Who Got America High
Alfred Dellentash Jr. chartered the Rolling Stones in private jets while smuggling planeloads of Pablo Escobar’s drugs on the side.
The Duke of Doubt
A profile of Chris Rock as he makes one last attempt to jump from standup to leading man.
Stephen King: The Rolling Stone Interview
The author on why he belives in God (“It makes things better”), the perils of writing high (“Annie Wilkes is cocaine, she was my number-one fan”) and what he thinks of other writers (“Hemingway sucks, basically”).
The Exacting, Expansive Mind of Christopher Nolan
The Interstellar director and the art of the blockbuster cult film.
Found Money
On cattle auctions, reality TV and coming of age during the Great Recession.
